While catharsis never comes, there are glimpses of light coming through at the edges, and a sense of perfect order among the chaos.

One of the best albums of the year so far.

Kids In LA lays its cards on the table and, whilst at times too polished for its own good, it boasts enough songs to justify a few spins at least.

Their third outing has ironed out the kooks and cracks that made them so endearing.

It’s a record that sees Mikal Cronin finding his way as a songwriter in his own right.

With less excessive production and better songs, this could have been an accomplished return--her voice is still there. As it is, we’re picking up some signals, but it requires some real tuning.

They may have been away for a while, but ADULT. remain as frustratingly unloveable as ever.

Throughout the entire album, you’re left wondering how Smith, who is responsible for some of the most untouchable, spontaneous punk classics of all time, could muster the audacity to purposefully sound like such a parody of his previous self.

It’s a combination [simultaneously sound contemporary and old-time] that has been present in his music from day one and Bright Sunny South proves it’s one that still reaps significant dividends.

Crawling Up The Stairs is a very fine follow up that sees them once again exploring the inner workings of their souls and collective psyche with often beautiful results.

After several listens its subtleties are revealed and things gradually fall into place, demonstrating how it should be heard independently, and judged on its own merits.

When the band does not explore their influences as assertively, their music blends in a little too closely with that of their peers.

For them, you feel, everything else is incidental--by-products of an already winning formula. For at the heart of each of the songs here is a touch of resonance--the kind that all the best pop records have.

You might not be able to play Dungeonesse at a summer party from start to finish, but it can be brilliantly interspersed among other hipster-approved pop.

Amid all this existential and transcendental pondering, there’s the sense that Vampire Weekend have re-imagined themselves as the sort of band who could be doing this well into their 30s.

Black Pudding, like the foodstuff it’s named after, is more of an acquired taste.

On paper these might sound like mad genius, but Daft Punk somehow misplace the wit and the light touch that’s pretty much their trademark. Instead, these long epics become somewhat tedious and there is a strong whiff of egoism and self-indulgence.

What it is, is a fine follow-up to 2009’s Halcyon Digest and another example of what can happen when a brilliant songwriter retreats into his own head and comes out with visions of monsters.

The occasional introductions and interludes niftily splice together some sampled voices that add to the sense of abstract threat and unease, even if their impact feels a little hubristic at times. Yet beneath the tempestuous tensions in this music there are also occasional hints of reflection and consideration.

On a technical level, Wolf People are a competent outfit but, for all its repetition, it doesn’t leave much of a dent in the brain.

Whilst there are occasional high points, it’s best to cherry-pick the highlights from Didn’t It Rain and leave the rest.

As a mini-EP of ‘new’ material, these musically diverse tracks are strong enough to make you yearn for the fifth album which will probably never come.

Overall, Invisible Life is Helado Negro’s best album yet.

The lack of introspective revelation is part of the whole mystique, and this debut album offers a striking first glimpse into The Child Of Lov’s bewitching melting pot of sounds.

As long as you come in solely expecting to be treated to top-notch instrumentation and heartened by the (sometimes-vague) familiarity of your favorite tunes, Walking Shadows will prove to be one of the year’s most satisfying jazz listens.

The shifting contours of Stetson’s music make for unpredictable and challenging but frequently awe-inspiring terrain.

As it develops, it shows off a new side to them once again, one which wants to make records which draw on their experience rather than trying to do something completely new, and that in itself puts More Light up their with their best.

There have been some excellent debut albums out this year already, and Love In Arms stands comparison with them.